BRITISH police forces competing to be seen to be helping with the search for Madeleine McCann hampered the investigation into her disappearance, according to a secret Home Office report.

A secret Home Office report into the search for Madeleine McCann has been revealed [AP]

The unpublished findings of Jim Gamble, former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), concluded that there were so many UK agencies getting involved that it damaged relations with Portuguese police and had a long term negative effect.

Commissioned by the former Home Secretary Alan Johnson in 2009, the report was delivered in 2010 and led to the Metropolitan Police reopening the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, but it was never released.

Yesterday details of the report emerged revealing Mr Gamble criticised the Association of Chief Police Officers decision to put Leicestershire Police in charge of the operation because the McCanns live in the county, despite the fact the force was ill-equipped to deal with such a big investigation.

Mr Gamble said that within weeks of the three-year-old going missing from an apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007 the different agencies getting involved, such as CEOP, the Met Police, Crimestoppers and various government departments, created a "sense of chaos and sense of competition".

I've no doubt relationships from the outset with the Portuguese were impacted by it and I think that had a long term negative effect on the investigation

Jim Gamble, former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre

He said everybody wanted to be seen to be providing "critical input" adding: "It was unhelpful....I've no doubt relationships from the outset with the Portuguese were impacted by it and I think that had a long term negative effect on the investigation and I think to this very day the Met investigation team that's engaged now are still having to manage and massage that relationship and perhaps to be fair to the Portuguese, mend some fences that were trodden on in the early days."

In his report Mr Gamble did remain confident that Madeleine's case will be solved.

The Home Office - which declined to release the report under the Freedom of Information laws - declined to comment.

Policing Minister Mike Penning said the Government remained "fully committed" to supporting the search for Madeleine.

He said: "That is why, in response to this operational review, we asked the Metropolitan Police to take forward their current investigation.

"We also created the first ever dedicated national response to missing children, located within the Ceop Command of the National Crime Agency.

"Under the Government's missing children and adults strategy we have strengthened information-sharing processes in local areas, introduced new guidance on cases involving children who go missing from home or care, and police forces are directing resources to the cases that need them most."